Foxboro senior Mike Moses (12) drives on his defender during the second quarter of the Div. 2 Central/East quarterfinal. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

FOXBORO, Mass. – Foxboro is a team that prides itself on defense and limiting opposition chances and in Thursday night’s Div. 2 Central/East quarterfinal against Concord-Carlisle at Sam Berns Community Field the Warriors were typically stout for three quarters.

It was the one quarter where things broke down that ended up being the difference.

The visiting Patriots scored five unanswered goals in the second to break open a tie game and take control before halftime. That quarter proved decisive, as Foxboro (15-4) held Concord-Carlisle to only two goals in the second half (and none in the fourth) but could not find a way back into the game and saw the season come to a close with a 9-6 loss.

“I’m just proud of the boys and the way they battled all year,” said Foxboro coach Matt Noone after taking time to speak with each player and give each player a hug following the final huddle.

He added, “There was a time where I thought they (Concord-Carlisle) were going to separate and at the time I said to the guys, ‘we’re fighting for our lives,’ and they did. I couldn’t be prouder of them for that.”

The Warriors got off to a rough start when, three minutes in, senior Patrick Kaveny’s cross-field pass on a clear was intercepted. Foxboro was subbing players at the time and the Patriots were handed a three-on-none break that was eventually finished off for a 1-0 lead.

“We had some poor turnovers, some poor quality shots,” Noone said. “We can’t give teams like that chances. It wasn’t one thing, but we can’t give teams second chances or freebies, especially not in the playoffs.”

That lasted only a minute before sophomore Bobby Yerardi found the back of the net with an overhand shot on the run to tie it. With two minutes left in the first, the Patriots regained the lead but again Yerardi had the answer, turning the corner and ripping a shot under the bar with 42 seconds on the clock.

While the teams combined for four goals in the first 12 minutes, Concord-Carlisle came out strong in the second and scored four times in the first four minutes.

Foxboro did have a few chances offensively in the second, but not many. Louis Piccolo, Foxboro’s top scorer in the regular season, was pretty tightly marked by Henry Nelson all game but he got free with five minutes left to the break only to have his shot ricochet off the helmet of Patriots goalie Ben Kacher. Sophomore Shayne Kerrigan had a good chance four minutes later but that was also saved.

With only 21 seconds left in the half, Foxboro had a rare breakdown defensively. Robert Doherty shook a pair of markers and wound up before unleashing a rocket past Foxboro goalie Jake Addeche.

“They had some great looks,” said Noone of the second quarter struggles. “Our game plan was to force the middies into the middle so Jake could get a better look. We didn’t want to let them down the alley and we were letting them go. We talked about our game plan and started forcing them down the middle and doing a better job.”

The momentum was with the visiting team at the break and it continued in the third quarter when Alexi Hunt fired a shot past Addeche to make it six straight for the Patriots. Foxboro responded right away to stop the bleeding. Kerrigan won the face-off and Mike Collins scored with a running shot to make it 8-3.

Foxboro also went man-up following the goal and the Warriors took advantage. Brendan Tully finally got his hands free and rifled a shot into the corner to get back within four.

Two minutes later, Addeche stopped a bouncing shot and appeared ready to break up the ice but play was halted for a two-minute, locked-in penalty against the Warriors. Matt Moreau found space in the middle and scored with a bouncer to make it 9-4, but Kerrigan won the ensuing face-off and allowed the Warriors to run out the penalty. It was a momentum-builder for Foxboro and the players seemed energized when Ronnie MacLellan put in a good check to force an errant pass, raced up field in transition, drew a penalty, and forced a save out of Kacher.

The defense continued to be strong to the final whistle with Patrick Stapleton, Will Morrison, Kaveny, and MacLellan locking down the shooters and Addeche getting stronger as the game wore on.

In the fourth, Piccolo finally got going. He beat his man to the left and scored with an overhand shot for his first of the night to make it 9-5 with 8:31 left. Exactly four minutes later, he twisted and turned his marker before again finding the goal with a close finish.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, it would be as close as they would get as Kacher stopped shots from Kerrigan and Tully and several chances flew past the post.

After a Davenport division title during the regular season, Noone admitted that some of the league games were not enough of a challenge to prepare the Warriors for this level of competition. Of course, Foxboro also had not played in two weeks (Concord-Carlisle won its opening round game on Tuesday) and that lack of game sharpness was a major factor.

“It was awful, just trying to keep the boys focused and here and wanting to come to practice every day,” Noone said of the layoff. “We tried to make it fun and work on things that would make us better at the same time but yeah it was tough. That’s a lot of time.”

Noone continued, “It sucks that our last game had to end in a defeat. I love them and they battled for me and I’m so proud. They showed the Foxboro spirit and the Foxboro fight.”

FOXBORO, Mass. – It’s safe to say Foxboro learned its lesson from last year’s game against Franklin.

The Warriors trailed 5-0 after a quarter in last year’s contest before ultimately falling 9-5. This time around, they made sure to get off to a better start.

Foxboro dominated opening frame this year, building a 4-0 lead before having to hold off a Franklin comeback, eventually pulling out a 7-6 win in double overtime to beat the Panthers.

It’s the first Hockomock League loss for the Panthers since April 2014 (11-10 in overtime to King Philip), snapping a 49-game league win streak.

With the win, Foxboro clinched the 2018 Hockomock League Davenport division title, the program’s second in the last three years.

“We try to start fast and we don’t always get it but we did today,” said Foxboro head coach Matt Noone. “Last year we got off the bus and we were down. I told them we can’t lose the game right away. We knew we could play with them, they believed in the system and it showed. It was just a great game.

Foxboro had the best chances in the first overtime despite Franklin junior Jacob Alexander winning the OT face off. Pressure from Kaveny forced an errant pass by the Panthers but the Warriors couldn’t solve Franklin goalie Connor O’Rourke.

O’Rourke made three of his 14 saves in the first overtime period to keep it level. Franklin had a second chance to get its offense going but lost the ball in transition.

Both sides had chances in the second overtime, both sending shots just wide. Addeche came up with his 14th save of the game, denying a wrap around low shot from Civetti, putting the Warriors on offense.

Senior Louis Piccolo was originally denied as he tried going to his right a couple of times but came back and whipped a quick sidearm shot that snuck in at the near post to give the Warriors the win.

“Special players make special plays and step up in the big moment.” Noone said. “That play Louis made, I was calling for him to make a pass and he stuck it like that, that was magical. We had a bunch of guys step up, [Brendan] Tully, Shayne [Kerrigan], my sophomores played great, Jake [Addeche] was awesome in goal…it was just a great night for Foxboro lacrosse.

“A game of inches, it felt like whoever had the next possession would win. There were a couple of times they had it and I thought, ‘Here we go,” but were able to get the stops we needed. It was just a great win for our program to show we can play with those programs. We’re trending in the right direction as we get ready for playoffs.”

Foxboro’s Brendan Tully opened the scoring just before the midway point of the first quarter, taking a feed from Andrew Whalen and depositing it into the back of the net. Just a minute later, Pete Conley ripped a rising shot to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

Just 15 seconds into an extra-man opportunity, the Warriors made it 3-0 when Piccolo picked out the top corner. And on the ensuing face-off, Shayne Kerrigan was able to corral a loose ball and raced all the way down before finding the back of the net with just a minute left in the opening quarter.

“We just spotted them those four early goals and it was tough to battle back,” said Franklin head coach Lou Verrochi. “We held them scoreless for over a half after their sixth goal. Credit to the kids, they battled back and were resilient, but what can you say, Foxboro is a good team.

“[Jake] Addeche stood on his head, I think Connor [O’Rourke] played a great game as well, especially in the second half. But hats off to them, they outworked us in the first half for sure. I think we came in here a little too overconfident, seeing some of the stuff online, but they are kids, their heads aren’t where they should be sometimes.”

Franklin got on the board three minutes into the second quarter when Civetti found Nitin Chaudhury cutting to the goal and the junior made no mistake and buried it into the back of the net. But that would be the Panthers’ only goal of the half.

Foxboro extended its lead back to four with under a minute left in the second quarter as Mike Moses took a handoff from Kerrigan before whipping a shot on target for a 5-1 lead.

The Warriors’ offense continued to roll to begin the second half when Piccolo made it 6-1 less than three minutes into the frame, but Foxboro wouldn’t score again in regulation after that.

“Franklin is a great team, it wasn’t like we were trying to stall, they played sound defense and they fought back,” Noone said. “That’s a five-time defending Hockomock champs over there, they aren’t going to give it up easily. I’m proud of the effort today, we’ll win a game 1-0 if we have to.”

Franklin scored back-to-back goals just 16 seconds apart at the halfway point of the third quarter. First, Addeche was caught out of goal after a turnover, leading to an empty net goal from Civetti. Alexander won the faceoff, raced up, the ball bounced loose in front and Civetti pounced and scooped it into the back of the net to make it 6-3.

While the score stayed that way for the rest of the third, it took just seven seconds for Franklin to cut the deficit when the fourth quarter started. After another win from Alexander, he found Jake Davis who wasted no time in finding the back of the net with a hard shot.

The Warriors had a two-man up opportunity halfway through the final frame but couldn’t add onto its lead. Franklin had a man-up chance shortly after, and although they didn’t score during it, Chase Tanner used a wicked shot shortly after snuck under the crossbar to make it 6-5 with 4:46 to go.

Franklin tied the game 90 seconds later. Chaudhury made a nice move to gain some space and then found Civetti in front and the senior faked a low shot before dumping it in up high to tie the game.

Foxboro had a man-up chance following the goal but O’Rourke came up with a big stop at the tail end of it, giving Franklin possession with two minutes to go. The Panthers nearly had the game-winner with 1:25 left but hit the post.

“It’s a game of inches, and that’s exactly what that goal was,” Verrochi said of the winner. “It was just a situation, I think it was a backhand shot, and Connor was just a little off the post. What are you going to do there?”

Foxboro boys lacrosse (9-1, 14-1) Hockomock) is back in action on Monday when it travels to Xaverian. Franklin (10-1, 12-3) is back in action on Friday night when it hosts Cohasset.